East Midlands Knowledge Network: Routes To University Expertise

 

De Beers the Diamond Trading Company

Management and Business Development

Description and aims

The University of Leicester has been selected as the Higher Education Partner for De Beers and the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) to provide a new Graduate Certificate Programme for DTC employees.

About De Beers the Diamond Trading Company

De Beers are the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds and, through DTC, their trading organisation, supply approximately 40% of the world’s rough diamonds into the jewellery industry. It employs over 20,000 people in 25 countries, on five continents, and is also part of the Anglo American Mining Group, a global leader in mining and natural resources.

How the project is being undertaken

The ‘Diamond Professional’ programme will be delivered by integrated University-company teaching to employees in Southern Africa and the UK. This programme takes advantage of the University’s well established web delivery platform which is supplemented by residential courses. This provides an innovative blend of group learning, site visits, and novel but robust assessment methods. The residentials will be held in different centres allowing the students to gain experience of the company’s operations around Southern Africa.

The 12 month programme, starting in September 2008, will combine web-based distance learning, specialist diamond academy training and international residential courses to provide a fully blended learning experience. It is an important element of De Beers talent development process across the Group and focuses on the development of its staff in South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia. It is particularly timely given the current corporate and industry re-structuring based on ‘beneficiation’, the expansion of downstream diamond sales, polishing and manufacturing that will increasingly take place in Southern Africa.

Impacts and benefits

• The course development is an exemplar of Partnership Working and Employer Engagement.
• The course is linked to De Beers’ corporate objectives
• The engagement is being undertaken under a non-disclosure agreement to ensure protection of De Beers’ IPR & commercial concerns
• The course curriculum recognises different cultures and nationalities and the diverse skills and experience of the participants
• De Beers sourced expertise it did not have in-house from the University

By the end of the programme successful candidates will have developed a high level contextual appreciation of the diamond business, with a technical and business focus, from exploration and mining through to the retail consumer of diamond jewellery with insight into the contemporary and future challenges to the diamond industry.

For more information about the project

If you would like to hear more about this project, please contact Ms Elaine Crewe, The Leading Edge, Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Leicester

Email: leadingedge@le.ac.uk
Telephone: 0116 252 5330

Duration

12 months

University

University of Leicester

Academic Lead

Kip Jeffery

Department of Geology and The Leading Edge, Institute of Lifelong Learning

Contact

Elaine Crewe

0116 252 5330